TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - Jul 14, 2015) - This year alone, Americans spent $6.6 billion on food and retail sales during the July 4th weekend, which was a 6.4% increase from last year, according the National Retail Federation. As consumer spending is increasing in the U.S., Americans continue to enjoy firing up the grill these summer months.
Technology and data company Engagement Labs (
According to eValue data, the top ranked barbecue grill, hot dog and condiment brands are:
Top Five Barbecue Grill Brands
| Ranking | ||
| 1 | Weber Grills | Weber Grills |
| 2 | Char-Broil | George Foreman Grill |
| 3 | PK Grills | Char-Broil |
| 4 | REC TEC Grills | PK Grill Smoker |
| 5 | Broil King BBQ | Cuisinart |
Top Five Hot Dog Brands
| Ranking | ||
| 1 | Dietz Watson | Ball Park |
| 2 | Hebrew National | Boar's Head |
| 3 | Ball Park | Nathan's Famous |
| 4 | Applegate | Oscar Mayer |
| 5 | Boar's Head | Applegate |
Top Five Condiment Brands
| Ranking | ||
| 1 | Annie's Homegrown | Annie's Homegrown |
| 2 | My Wild Harvest | La Maison Maille |
| 3 | La Maison Maille | Vlasic |
| 4 | Heinz | Kraft Foods |
| 5 | Del Monte | Boar's Head |
Based on Engagement Labs' eValue rankings of barbecue grills, Weber Grills was ranked first on both Facebook and Twitter. The brand had an eValue score of 63.06 on Facebook and a score of 77.95 on Twitter, out of 100. Weber Grills utilized their social media channels during the month of June to highlight Father's Day and the lead up to July 4th celebrations. As a major part of the brand's strategy, they posted consumer generated content by showcasing new and delicious recipes to cook on their grills, which resulting in having the highest impact Facebook and Twitter.
In the hot dog category, Dietz Watson took the number one spot on Facebook with an eValue score of 59.77. Long time hot dog favorite, Ball Park, continued its brand dominance by taking the top spot on Twitter with an eValue score of 88.30, 42 points ahead of their closest competition, Boar's Head.
"Brands such as Ball Park use their social media channels in a creative and fun way to engage with their followers in a dialogue that would resonate well with them. For example, the brand not only promotes contest but they also ask their followers to share grilling stories to create engagement," said Bryan Segal, CEO of Engagement Labs. "This strategy has led Ball Park to take the top spot for all sub-scores -- Engagement, Impact and Responsiveness -- on Twitter along with having the largest active user base amongst the competition."
When looking at the condiment brands, Engagement Labs found that Annie's Homegrown was number one for both Facebook and Twitter. With an eValue score of 67.16 on Facebook and 76.59 on Twitter, the brand promotes their organic ingredients and sustainable practices. The Company also has the highest number of likes, comments and shares on Facebook, putting them in the top spot for the Impact sub-score.
"Seventy-one percent of consumers are likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals. Therefore, brands should leverage their social channels to attract potential consumers and ensure that their current customers are keeping them top-of-mind. As the summer is the most popular time for people to fire up their grills, brands should be amping up their social strategy to gain traction with their target consumers," noted Segal.
About Engagement Labs
Engagement Labs' eValue™ Score is the global benchmark for social media scoring. eValue Analytics Pro, an enterprise-grade social media analytics platform, scores brands between 0-100. eValue measures brands' social media and digital marketing efforts. It's composed of a series of metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs), including Engagement, Responsiveness and Impact, which is benchmarked against 100,000+ handpicked and verified brands.
The eValue score is composed of Engagement, Impact and Responsiveness metrics. Engagement is the level of interaction content receives on a specific social network, Impact is the unique reach content receives on a specific social network, and Responsiveness measures how much, how fast and how well a brand responds to actual conversations amongst its users.
Engagement Labs (
Contact Information:
For media inquiries please contact:
Kate Tumino / Cait Kilpatrick
KCSA Strategic Communications
ktumino@kcsa.com / ckilpatrick@kcsa.com
212-896-1252 / 212-896-1231
